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The IT Centre, coming in 2012....

A warm welcome to 2012, quite literally when compared to the weather last year. I hope 2011 has treated you well and i wish you every success for 2012. I'd like to extend a massive thankyou to all our clients and associates for your custom thoughout the last year. Its been another great year for Netcom, we've welcomed 3 new members of our team and have finally secured the new premises we've been looking at for the past 3 years.

 

We like to keep things spicey here at Netcom and 2012 will be an exciting year for us. January see's the start of the renovation of our new purpose designed facility which will house 'THE IT CENTRE', a new arm to our already successful IT support business. The IT Centre will handle the jobs we're constantly being asked to do but which don't fit within our current remit.  Our trade counter will be open to the public and will offer Laptop repairs, PC repairs and server repairs and servicing by professionals at a price you can afford. We'll also stock business grade IT and networking equipment so no more waiting for next day delivery should that business router fail.

 

We're going to be ideally located for you to pop in with your problem device. Or as always, we can arrange a site visit by one of our professional qualified engineers.

 

But first, we need to renovate, here's how it looks at the moment. I'll keep you posted here as things change.......

 

   PC repairs at the it centre Server repairs at The IT Centre 

 

We've already removed all of the radiators, piping and cabling. Where possible we're trying to keep to Netcom's Green Policy. The next phase is to re-install all new cabling and introduce energy saving lighting and an energy efficient cooling and heating system which is to be powered by renewable energy sources. Automatic standby reducing filters and energy saving servers will further reduce our carbon footprint.

 

 Netcom and The IT Centre Netcom and The IT Centre 

 

With a friends and family scheme for our existing clients and planned regular 'specials', we're looking forward to serving your in the not to distant future for all of your laptop, server and PC repairs and servicing in Sheffield.

 

Tags: laptop repairs in Sheffield, PC repairs in Sheffield and Server Maintenance and servicing in Sheffield, The IT Centre, Netcom Technologies, virus removal, software installation.


Posted on 31 December 1969.

 

Calculate The Size of your Server Room Air Conditioner

How to Calculate The Size of a Server Room Air Conditioner

 
As IT professionals we frequently find ourselves needing to cross over the IT boundaries and explore other disciplines, one such time is when refitting and setting up server rooms. Heres a quick guide to show you how we work out your requirements for an air conditioning unit for your Server Room or Data Centre.
 
In theory it’s easy to calculate the size of the air con unit needed for your server room, you add together all heat sources and install an air con unit that can remove that much. In practice it’s rather more complicated. This guide doesnt go into every detail of possible heat sources, it should be used to give you an idea of the amount of cooling you might need.
 
Fire regulations often require that server rooms have levels of insulation far above that of a normal office. Providing sufficient cooling is essential to ensure reliable running of servers, routers, switches and other critical equipment. Failure of the air conditioning can have serious consequences for the equipment itself and for your company. Early warning of problems and spare capacity in the cooling system are both highly desirable.
 

Calculating Heat Load

The amount of heat generated is known as the heat gain or heat load. Heat is measured in either British Thermal Units (BTU) or Kilowatts (KW). 1KW is equivalent to 3412BTUs.
 
The heat load depends on a number of factors, by taking into account those that apply in your circumstances and adding them together a reasonably accurate measure of the total heat can be calculated.

Factors include:
  • The floor area of the room
  • The size and position of windows, and whether they have blinds or shades
  • The number of room occupants (if any)
  • The heat generated by equipment
  • The heat generated by lighting
 
Floor Area of Room
 
The amount of cooling required depends on the area of the room. To calculate the area in square metres:
 
Room Area BTU = Length (m) x Width (m) x 337
 
Window Size and Position
 
If, as is quite common, your Server Room has no windows, you can ignore this part of the calculation. If, however there are windows you need to take the size and orientation into account.
 
South Window BTU = South Facing window Length (m) x Width (m) x 870
North Window BTU = North Facing windows Length (m) x Width (m) x 165
 
If there are no blinds on the windows multiply the result(s) by 1.5. Obviously if you are in the Southern Hemisphere you would swap the conversion factors as the heat on North facing windows is then greatest.  Add together all the BTUs for the windows.
 
Windows BTU = South Window(s) BTU + North Window(s) BTU
 
Occupants
 
Purpose built Server Rooms don’t normally have people working in them, but if people do regularly work in your Server Room you will have to take that into account. The heat output is around 400 BTU per person.
 
Total Occupant BTU = Number of occupants x 400
 
Equipment
 
Clearly most heat in a Server Room is generated by the equipment. This is trickier to calculate that you might think. The wattage on equipment is the maximum power consumption rating, the actual power consumed may be less. However it is probably safer to overestimate the wattage than underestimate it.
 
Add together all the wattages for Servers, Switches, Routers and multiply by 3.5.
 
Equipment BTU = Total wattage for all equipment x 3.5
 
Lighting
 
Take the total wattage of the lighting and multiply by 4.25.
 
Lighting BTU = Total wattage for all lighting x 4.25
 
Total Cooling Required
 
Add all the BTUs together.
 
Total Heat Load = Room Area BTU + Windows BTU + Total Occupant BTU + Equipment BTU + Lighting BTU
 
This is the amount of cooling required so you need one or more air conditioning units to handle that amount of heat.
 
So what size of unit do I need?
 
Small air conditioning units have a cooling capacity of between 5000 and 11000 BTUs. Small units may fit in windows, venting to the outside world.
Larger units may be rated in tons of cooling. 1 ton of cooling is equivalent to 12 thousand BTUs.
 
Ever thought of using free cooling?
 
If your reading this from the UK you'll know that theres a large time of year when our weather is less than hot. The use of ambient air circulation at times of the year where the outside temperature is low enough to cool your equipment will save you money. Ambient air cooling isn't a replacement for air conditioning and thermastatically controlled cooling but can provide a money saving break from the air con at relevant times of the year.
 
Disclaimer: This calculation is intended as a rough guide only. Complete accuracy cannot be guaranteed. Before you decide on an air conditioning unit you should commission an audit from a suitably qualified air conditioning equipment specialist or installer.


As always, we're here to help so if you have any questions or queries please do not hesitate to contact us at sales@netcom.uk.net or on 08712300417. We are not air con specialists and regret that we are unable to offer free air con BTU calculations. We are full qualified and certified Microsoft installation engineers and can help with your server and networking equipment requirements.

 
Thanks to dlaverty for the article.
 

Posted on 11 January 2012.

 

40Mb broadband for £39!

Netcom and Digital Region offers you unbeatable broadband...

 

     

 

 

Call 01143216146 or email sales@netcom.uk.net to get connected to up to 40Mb broadband from £39pcm!

 

  • So what is digital region broadband?

    To cut a long story short, its a high speed network encompassing South Yorkshire, Sheffield, Barsley, Hull and Rotherham which bypasses the Virgin and BT network allowing basic connection speeds starting at 40Mb download and 10Mb upload.
     

  • Whats this mean to me?

    Your business will benefit from the increased 40Mb download speed which means that more of your computers can access the internet without loss of performance. You can use a VoIP or broadband based phone system to save money. The 10Mb upload speed means that your videoconferencing and remote working will run much quicker and your remote backups will upload to your backup servers quicker, whats that? You dont have remote backups? Call us today to find out more. The business package and business bias quality of service routing means that you now have a viable cost effective solution to ramp up your broadband speeds and avoid the costs of leased lines or EFM links.

 

  • What if i'm not based in the digital region?

Thats okay. Our other broadband connections offer download speeds up to 24Mb and upload speeds up to 2.5Mb. Not as fast as the digital region but still head and shoulders above the best BT connections out there and for a fraction of the cost.

 

  • Business Broadband on an Uncongested Network

Regardless of the size of connection, if the network is being used by a large volume of people, the speed of access will decrease. Our network is uncongested, which limits degradation of service and ensures that you can access the information you require quickly and efficiently. Residential broadband is congested and therefore unsuitable for business use. Furthermore you will not be able to run voice communications over congested networks in the future.
 

  • What next?

Netcom have a range of solutions to suit businesses looking for fast and reliable broadband and intersite connectivity to service your business, school or college. Simply call 01143216146, email sales@netcom.uk.net or complete the contact form  for a free no obligation chat with one of our friendly advisors. If you already have an account with us, please speak to your account manager.

Posted on 17 October 2011.

 

Original or Refill Ink Cartidges?

Since there is a need to cut on costs because of these turbulent financial times, there are a few ways consumers refill ink cartridges. These are through ink refilling kits that are a do-it-yourself projects that consumers can do on their own, through purchasing compatible ink cartridges that are made by third party manufacturers compatible to particular brands like Canon ink or Lexmark ink cartridges and re-manufactured printer cartridges which are recycled cartridges refilled with ink.

Surely, these are far cheaper than buying an original cartridge not because original equipment is overpriced but because they have a few disadvantages to using them. For one they are not manufactured with the same quality control and manufacturing process an original cartridge goes through. Since the quality will not be the same, think of the number of times you will have to print not only wasting ink but paper and time as well. You cannot be assured a hundred percent that the less than original cartridge will actually work once it gets to you. Imagine purchasing ten cartridges off the internet because of a really cheap sale but only five functions when it gets to you. Yes, you can send them back for an exchange but think of the time wasted. Be wary of cartridges sold at an unbelievably low price because these are cartridges that were drilled so they can be filled with ink. Many of these are half-filled or sometimes less, plus the fact that if something goes wrong with your printer because you are not using an originally manufactured ink cartridge, you cannot expect the manufacturers to honour your warranty. This is one of the gravest things a consumer can do to a brand new printer. If you are really forced to buy these cheaper and less than stellar equipment, then please wait until the warranty is over before using them. You may be saving some money but not enough to actually purchase a brand new printer. In the long run you are not actually saving but spending more. The point is that these cartridges are not made to suit your printer perfectly so there is a big chance that it can in fact damage your equipment. Some studies have shown that forty percent of unoriginal ink cartridges cause problems with the printer.

On the other hand, purchasing originally manufactured ink cartridges might be a tad bit intimidating and overwhelming because of the steep price it comes with but in reality, you are actually saving money for the long haul. Here are a number of reasons why. These cartridges are really manufactured for the sole purpose of using it with the printer so you can expect stellar quality in printing without the hassle of reprinting, durability of your printer means you should encounter less problems if none at all and lastly, if ever something goes wrong with the printer, you can expect full accountability from the manufacturer as well as honouring the warranty. You can expect not to encounter instances of streaking, blurring, bleeding, curling and ugly blotches highlighting that you only need to print once and on one piece of paper. Compute these with the number of pages you can actually print only once versus the number of instances you will have to reprint for unoriginal equipment and you will immediately see how much you have saved. Do the math.

There may be only a few advantages to purchasing originally manufactured ink cartridges but one thing is certain. The cost on a new printer because of a damaged one plus hoards of reams of paper and unoriginal ink cartridges for reprints, printer jams, plus low class quality prints should be enough for you to do a double take on cost alone versus a onetime steep investment on all original equipment. You shell out on a printer once in two to three years, twice for Canon ink cartridges or Lexmark ink cartridges in a year. That is a lot of savings on cost already. Original equipment is manufactured for a purpose and that purpose is because they are built to last and are supposed to compliment the equipment they are really made for. These reasons alone should be enough to dispel the myth that unoriginal equipment are cost efficient.

 

By K Dawson

 

http://www.netcom-it-services.co.uk/news


Posted on 08 July 2011.

 

Get the best out of your keyboard

5 ways to make your keyboard easier to use

 

How to use a keyboard might seem academic, but there's more to typing than just tapping the keys. For most people, the keyboard is the primary computer input and control device-that's why it's important to leverage the features and shortcuts that keyboards offer. Read on for tips to maximize ease of use, comfort, and efficiency.

 

1. Get to know your keyboard

 

Whether your keyboard is just out of the box or it has seen years of use, it may have features you don't know about. Take a moment to review the literature that came with your keyboard, visit the manufacturer's product website, and familiarize yourself with the layout of the keys. Knowing your keyboard's capabilities and limitations-and where to find time-saving keys-can make it easier to use and can even increase your productivity.

 

 

2. Customize keyboard settings

 

After you're familiar with your keyboard, customizing just a few basic settings can further improve your efficiency and accuracy. For instance, you can adjust:

 

  • The pause before a character starts repeating.
  • The speed at which characters repeat, which can help you avoid typing errors.
  • The rate at which the cursor blinks, which can enhance its visibility.

 

You can make these changes right now:

 

 

3. Take shortcuts

 

Even if you're a genius with the mouse, keyboard shortcuts can still save you time. They're called shortcuts for a reason-they reduce multiple clicks to a single combination of keys, like hitting a chord on a piano. They also economize hand and arm motion.

 

Using keyboard shortcuts for the things you do all the time, like saving or closing files, can make computing much easier and faster. So whether you want to work more easily and efficiently in Internet Explorer, streamline your Microsoft Office Home and Student 2010 experience, or key international characters into your emails, you'll find scores of shortcuts to speed you on your way. The table below offers only a few common standard-keyboard shortcuts, many of which work across Office applications-from Outlook to Access, from Visio to PowerPoint, from Word to Excel. You can find a more complete list of built-in keyboard shortcuts for a particular application by searching in Help for keyboard shortcuts. You can even peruse keyboard-shortcut lists:

 

 

Press this

To do this

F1

Open Help

F7

Check the spelling of titles or words in any Office application with the Spelling & Grammar checker

Windows logo key

Open the Start menu

Alt+F4

Quit a program

Alt+Tab

Switch between open programs or windows

Ctrl+N

Open a new (blank) document

Ctrl+A

Select all content in a document, window, or text box

Ctrl+S

Save the current file or document (works in most programs)

Ctrl+C

Copy the selection

Ctrl+X

Cut the selection

Ctrl+V

Paste the selection

Ctrl+P

Print a document or webpage

Ctrl+Z

Undo an action

Ctrl+Y

Redo an action

Ctrl+F

Find text in a document

Ctrl+H

Find and replace text in a document

Ctrl+B

Boldface text

Ctrl+I

Italicize text

Ctrl+U

Underline text

Ctrl+G

Go to a page, line, or bookmark in a document

Windows logo key +F1

Display Windows Help and Support

Esc

Cancel the current task

Application key

Open a menu of commands related to a selection in a program (equivalent to right-clicking the selection)

 

 

4. Make it easier to press multiple keys

 

If pressing Ctrl+Alt+Del seems an acrobatic feat, you can set up Sticky Keys. The Sticky Keys feature lets you hit shortcut keys one at a time rather than all at once. You can even set Sticky Keys to make a noise so you know it's working.

 

You can set up Sticky Keys:

 

(Tip: In Windows 7 and Windows Vista, Sticky Keys has a keyboard shortcut-press Shift five times in a row.)

 

 

5. Find a comfortable keyboard

 

Keyboards come in many shapes and sizes, and the Natural Ergonomic Keyboard your coworker swears by might feel downright awkward compared to the Comfort Curve 2000 you covet. Keyboards come in a variety of colors and key styles, too, not to mention with and without wires. And some keyboards are definitely louder than others. All Microsoft keyboards are carefully designed to balance form and function with comfort. Test drive a keyboard or two to find the right one for you.

 

Although using the right keyboard can really make a difference, ergonomics also play a key role when it comes to typing comfortably.

 

Tips for using your keyboard ergonomically

 

It is essential to use good ergonomic practices to help prevent or reduce soreness or injury to your wrists, hands, and arms. It is particularly important if you're in front of your computer for long periods.

 

Here are some ergonomic tips for a safer, more comfortable computer session:

 

  • Position your keyboard at elbow level, with your upper arms relaxed at your sides.
  • Center your keyboard in front of you. If it has a numeric keypad, use the Spacebar as the centering point.
  • While typing, use a light touch and keep your wrists straight.
  • When you're not typing, relax your arms and hands.
  • Take a short break every 15 to 20 minutes.
  • Type with your hands and wrists floating above the keyboard, so that you can use your whole arm to reach for distant keys instead of stretching your fingers.
  • Avoid resting your palms or wrists on any surface while typing. If your keyboard has a palm rest, use it only during breaks from typing.

 

How you use the keyboard is up to you. But by taking the time to adjust a few settings and to follow the guidelines above, typing on it can become easier, faster, and even safer.

 

 

Thanks to Microsoft at Home for this article

 


Posted on 20 May 2011.

 
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About Netcom

Netcom specialise in IT managed support services and this comprehensive approach means we handle everything from the supply and support of PCs and servers to broadband and multisite branch office connectivity, telephone systems, hosted email and much more. Whatever your business, whatever your needs, Netcom takes the headache out of IT.